Thai cuisine and culture week to be held in Hanoi
Update: Nov 26, 2009
The Thai Culinary and Culture Delight Week organised by the Royal Thai Embassy and the Hanoi Melia Hotel will take place in Hanoi from December 1 to 6 to celebrate the Thai National Day, which falls on December 4.

On the occasion, two Thai chefs Aek Charttrakul and Chutchanok Boonchai will introduce dishes cooked with especially hand-picked spices and herbs.

The week will introduce some typical Thai dishes like Pla-Moo-Yang (Spicy and sour grilled pork salad), Lab-Hed (Spicy fresh mushroom salad), Tom-Yam-Kung (Spicy shrimp soup), Khao-Soy-Kai-Nua (Egg noodles with chicken or beef curry), Kang-Phed-Ped-Yang (Roast duck curry) and Pueak-Kang-Buad (Taro in coconut milk).

Thai cuisine is known for its balance of five fundamental flavours in each dish or the overall meal - hot, sour, sweet, salty and bitter (optional). Although popularly considered as a single cuisine, Thai food is really better described as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern, North-eastern (or Isan), Central and Southern. Southern curries, for example, tend to contain coconut milk and fresh turmeric, while North-eastern dishes often include lime juice. Thai food is known for its enthusiastic use of fresh (rather than dried) herbs and spices as well as fish sauce. People can discover different tastes of Thai snacks or enjoy dinner buffet at Hanoi Melia Hotel.

Not only having a chance to taste Thai specialities, visitors will enjoy traditional charming performances by Thai dancers during the week.

Thai dance is the main dramatic art form of Thailand. Thai dance, like many forms of traditional Asian dance, can be divided into two major categories that correspond roughly to the high art (classical dance) and low art (folk dance) distinction.
Nhan Dan